Summer used to be the time classical musicians took some time off. In most cities, classical concerts were scarce. No more. “Exact figures are hard to come by, but in the last five years alone, summer festivals and workshops in America have doubled, from about 100 in 2001 to more than 200 this year, according to Chamber Music America.”
Blog
Why Online Music Can’t Beat Radio…
Online music is stealing audience. But can it rival radio? “Despite numerous attempts, no one online has found a way to turn the hat trick that sustained radio through six decades of dominance of the music industry. The iTunes store is just a very alluring retailer; it has no defining personality and therefore hasn’t developed into the kind of mass community that assembled around the most successful radio DJ shows. Various adventures in file-sharing have been a bonanza for music collectors, but have done little to advance the cause of sounds that weren’t already popular.”
What If One Company Controls All The Major Concerts?
A deal that combines America’s two largest concert promoters has Greg Kot worried about lack of competition. “The $350 million acquisition announced Wednesday will bring HOB Entertainment, the operator of the House of Blues clubs, under the umbrella of Live Nation, the Clear Channel Entertainment spinoff that is North America’s biggest concert promoter. The deal brings the concert business even closer to a monopoly, and the effect on ticket prices and artistic diversity could be crippling.”
As Usual, Lame Emmys Bypass The Good Stuff
“Inconceivably, not only did great series and worthy actors from across the spectrum get largely ignored by the new fix, Emmy voters put a blindfold over their vision thing and actually regressed. The result, even when factoring in that Emmy voters are traditionally clueless and about a year behind what’s actually happening, quality-wise on your television, is a staggering lameness.”
Record Sales Of Musical Instruments
US courts have refused to ban a knockoff of a Les Paul guitar, opening the way for other copycat instruments. Last year a record $7.8 billion in instruments were sold in the United States, up 6.9 percent from 2004. “Worldwide sales topped $17 billion, according to a soon-to-be-released NAMM report. ‘What we’re witnessing is a shift from passive listening to active playing. Siblings are inspired by music-themed TV shows to come out and play instruments’.”
Theatre Buys Housing For Its Out-Of-Town Artists
Washington DC’s Studio Theatre is getting into the real estate business. The company is buying housing to put up artists who work with it. “At one time, the out-of-town artists could stay in the little hotels and we could rent small apartments. But now the hotels are $200 a night. This problem led us to impose on people. Actors were staying with people in the neighborhood and with board members. There was no end of the difficulty.”
A British (Amateur) Musical Renaissance?
Some have suggested that music is on the decline in the UK. But “it only takes a trip to the local village hall or a knock on your neighbour’s door to discover that millions of Britons are still getting together to make music. Folk groups, rock bands, religious choirs, samba troupes, a cappella singers, programmers, rappers and DJs are all performing somewhere near you. Far from forgetting how to play, it appears that Britain is experiencing a musical renaissance, albeit a very amateur one.”
England’s Civil Servant Eggheads
Where will you find many of Britain’s intellectuals? In the civil service. “The first consideration is money. Civil servants get paid significantly more than academics, and only the most successful writers are likely to earn more. Those joining the fast stream—many of whom have postgraduate degrees and so have had academia or teaching open to them—earn about the same as junior lecturers or teachers. But on promotion out of the fast stream—which is expected within four to five years, and many do it faster—the starting salary for the next grade ranges from £35-40,000, a figure that academics are only likely to achieve after twice that length of service.”
Basic Cable Comes Of Age
A look at Emmy nominations shows that quality programs are just as likely to be found on basic cable these days as on broadcast networks. “One reason for the improvement in quality, he said, is that viewers, especially the young, no longer distinguish among premium cable, network and basic cable. To compete, basic cable has been forced to spend more on quality and promotion, he said, which has paid off in increasing industry recognition.”
Remembering Lorraine Hunt Lieberson
“Transformation was the heart and soul of Hunt Lieberson’s art. She transformed herself from violist to vocalist in her late 20s. She transformed herself from soprano to mezzo soprano. In performance, she abandoned herself to such an astonishing degree that, like a dancer’s, every muscle in her body — not just her exceptional vocal cords — seemed directed toward singular, mesmerizing expression. Her voice too was like no other. Her rich, viola tone filled whatever space she was in, wrapping a listener in her singing. She even created that effect once in the Hollywood Bowl, which is an acoustic impossibility.”